Thursday, April 9, 2009

Formulating my plan

My last marathon was March of 2008, just over a year ago at the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon. I was in good shape, and had been having success with the "moderate consistent" training plan. I ran the race myself, but my wonderful wife was there at the finish line, waiting, and just as excited as I was to see the big clock say 3:20 when I crossed. I had finsihed the race so fast, she had not been expecting me.

That got me to thinking then, could I actually make it to Boston on my own? Could I really qualify? My first marathon had been 18 months prior in Richmond and I had finished in a very respectable 3:44. That had been a great accomplishment in my mind, but now, I was a scant 10 minutes away from a BQ!

This past year, I have been completing my PGY4 (post-graduate year 4, I graduated medical school in 2005) which is my first year as a Cardiology Fellow. Marathons have not been the order of business, but I did complete two 1/2 marathons in Jax and in Gville at 1:34 and 1:31 each.

1:31 x 2 = 3:02, a BQ with 8 minutes to spare.

Clearly, the math is not that easy, but I had not been in serious training for either race. What if I could commit to a 50-60 mile/week schedule? What if I really did the expert recommended speed and strength workouts (which I loathe). I am thinking I could do this.

I am hoping to spend next year on a research track, which should give me a little more time to be able to get the necessary miles in. If all goes to plan, by this time next year I will have 2 marathons and 2 half marathons under my belt and be tapering for a run from Hopkinton to Boston.

My wife pointed out to me last night that whereas before, i had made comments to the effect of "yeah, if I ever qualify for Boston, that'd be cool". Clearly now, I have my plan laid out, and I am ready to get started.

That is, once my knee feels a little better. But hey, I've got time to contemplate the training plan, build some base, and crosstrain some strength. In the meantime, I also have this doctor thing to keep me busy between runs.